Regional
12th December
Indigenous groups call for attention to climate-forced migration
KATOWICE, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (CLIMATE HOME) – Amid intensive negotiations over global rules for future work on climate change, some communities are calling for attention to the destruction that is already pushing them out of...
United States seeks increase in its tuna catch limit
HONOLULU, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (PACIFIC NOTE) – The United States is seeking a higher catch limit for bigeye tuna by its Hawaii-based longline fishing fleet at the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) taking place in Honolulu this week. The move comes as Pacific Island nations through their two main...
WCPFC Secretariat proposes new Science-Management dialogue to expedite sustainable fishing rules
HONOLULU, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (PACNEWS) – The executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) believes the creation of the Science-Management dialogue is best vehicle to expedite the implementation of the Tuna harvest strategy work plan which aims to ensure sustainability for the world’s biggest fishery. Feleti Teo used his address at...
11th December
Literacy a challenge in the region
APIA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (SAMOA OBSERVER) – When it comes to literacy among students in tertiary education around the Pacific region, there is a lack of competency, says outgoing University of the South Pacific (USP) Vice Chancellor, Professor Rajesh Chandra. Prof. Chandra has spent the past 39 years in educating tertiary students from around the...
APEC service providers in PNG yet to be paid
PORT MORESBY, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – Papua New Guinea car hire companies that provided services to the APEC joint forces taskforce security say they “may go on strike” if they do not receive payments for services rendered. They fear payments may not be forthcoming before the government accounts close on Friday. Their grievances...
PNA focuses on electronic monitoring programme
HONOLULU, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (PNA) – Electronic monitoring of fishing vessels operating in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean is gaining greater focus following directives by the President of the Federated States of Micronesia and Ministers of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) members. PNA officials recently considered the development of a PNA E-Monitoring...
Pakumotu fugitive caught at French navy open day
PAPE’ETE, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (RNZ PACIFIC) – A fugitive member of French Polynesia’s self-styled Pakumotu kingdom has been arrested in Papeete. Tahiti Nui TV said the man presented an identity card when asked to so while entering a secure zone at the French navy’s open day. It said he was immediately taken to prison. The...
Torture, crimes against humanity’: Class action for Nauru, Manus asylum seekers
CANBERRA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (SBS/AAP) – A legal advocacy group has launched two class actions in the High Court on behalf of the roughly 1,200 remaining refugees and asylum seekers in offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru. George Newhouse, director of the National Justice Project, told SBS News the legal team led by...
PNG Court clears charges against Paul Paraka lawyers
PORT MORESBY, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – All 27 charges of conspiracy, stealing and money laundering against Papua New Guinea embattled lawyer Paul Paraka have been dropped. Senior committal court magistrate Mekeo Gauli ruled Monday that the criminal charges laid against Paraka, principal of Paraka Lawyers, by the fraud squad (formerly known as the...
ABG elections must go ahead: Banam
BUKA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – Former chairman of Leitana council of elders, Joel Banam said the next Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) elections in 2020 must be held with no extension of current members of the Bougainville House of Representatives. Banam made the point after hearing rumours on the streets in Buka that members...
UN talks offer helping hand to people uprooted by climate change
KATOWICE,11 DECEMBER 2018 (REUTERS ) – When indigenous groups from around the world met in Alaska in October, they sounded the alarm on how their homelands, cultures and livelihoods were threatened by rising temperatures, loss of permafrost, higher sea levels and weather disasters. One of the biggest risks facing them is being displaced from their...
A look inside one of Tonga’s five major drug syndicates, as P ravages the kingdom
NUKU’ALOFA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (TVNZ) – A methamphetamine epidemic is ravaging the Kingdom of Tonga and authorities are struggling to cope with the drug’s destructive effects. In the Pacific nation with a population of 109,008 the highly-addictive drug known in New Zealand as P has penetrated all levels of society, officials tell 1 NEWS. Ninety-six...
Nations to decide on critical Pacific tuna stocks this week
HONOLULU, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (PACIFIC NOTE) – Nations of the 34- member the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) will meet this week to make decisions on critical issues on tropical tunas, illegal fishing, observer safety and the management of Fishing aggregating devices (FADS). Pacific nations and distant water fishing nations are due to...
USP responds to claims by staff union
THE University of the South Pacific (USP) has clarified the claims made by the USP Staff Union. In responding to questions sent by the Fiji Times Online, USP claimed in the Collective Agreement between USP and the USP Staff Union, there was no mention of a salary increase. “The salary rates for staff members at...
Pacific wins praise for new solidarity ahead of WCPFC meeting
HONOLULU, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (PACNEWS) – Pacific nations attending this week’s Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) are on a mission to persuade members to set a target reference point for albacore tuna – the most important tuna for southerly Pacific countries – and to thwart any increase in catches of tropical tuna. Pacific...
PIDF urges leaders to empower people
THE focus of leaders should be to empower communities and individuals to be able to take care of themselves in times of crisis. This was part of the message that was disseminated by the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) secretary-general François Martel during a side event held on building national, regional and international partnerships on...
PNG soldiers and police officers trained to international standard
PORT MORESBY, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (THE NATIONAL) – Papua New Guinea soldiers and Hela, Enga, and Southern Highlands policemen received training on international policing standards last week. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted two days of training in Tari last Monday and Tuesday. Training was designed to help the disciplined forces understand the...
Japanese WWII warplane found in Solomon Islands
HONIARA,10 DECEMBER 2018 (SOLOMON STAR) – Japanese zero was discovered in November at Kolobangara in the Western Solomons by Sunga Boso of Dive Munda and Barbra Buchanan of USA’s WRECK DIVING Magazine. Side Dive Munda Operations Manager Belinda Botha relayed to Solomon Star Gizo via email and forwarded from associate Jack McKee who translated the...
Pacific nurses say pathway to practise too hard
AUCKLAND, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (RNZ PACIFIC) – Pasifika nurses in New Zealand say the pathway for trained migrant nurses to practise in this country is too difficult, and if changed, could significantly ease the shortage in the profession. The Aged Care Association says there are at least 500 nurse vacancies in rest homes around the...
Cook Islands proposed law tackles long stay issue
RAROTONGA,10 DECEMBER 2018 (COOK ISLANDS NEWS) – A proposed maximum stay of eight months for international visitors to the Cook Islands other than New Zealanders will address an issue that has seen non-Cook Islanders leveraging bona fide visitor provisions in the Cook Islands Entry, Residence and Departure Act 1971-72 (ERD) to remain in this country...
Australia’s silence during climate change debate shocks COP24 delegates
KATOWICE, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (THE GUARDIAN) – As four of the world’s largest oil and gas producers blocked UN climate talks from “welcoming” a key scientific report on global warming, Australia’s silence during a key debate is being viewed as tacit support for the four oil allies: the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait. The...
Long term sustenance key to LNG projects roll-out
PORT MORESBY, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – The Papua LNG gas agreement negotiations is set to conclude after the first quarter of 2019 and progress of P’nyang gas field set to progress after the Papua project. ExxonMobil PNG Andrew Barry has said both projects will bring a sustained period of growth, even longer than...
Solomon Islands PM signs government pledge to ban logging, mining
HONIARA, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (SOLOMON STAR) – Solomon Islands Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela has signed the Sky Islands Pledge to ban logging, mining and other commercial activities at and above the 400m contour line. This was during a low key ceremony held at the Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel last week. The signing of the pledge...
PNA members add political weight to Pacific push to keep EEZ rights if members lose land to sea level rise
HONOLULU, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (PACNEWS) – The eight nations that are Parties to the Nauru agreement (PNA) are to investigate ways to claim their current 200-mile exclusive economic zones before they lose land to climate change-induced sea level rise. ‘This is one of the most important things the PNA is going to start looking at,’...
Tokelau to be counted in Paris Agreement
KATOWICE, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (SPREP) – For the first time, Tokelau will be undertaking a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory to be submitted with New Zealand’s National GHG Inventory come 2019. Last year, New Zealand extended its ratification of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement to include Tokelau, after extensive...
Fisheries observers are our “eyes at sea”
HONOLULU, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (PNA) – A total of 800 fisheries observers are at the front line for Pacific Islands to effectively manage the multi-billion dollar fishing industry in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. While there are no specific proposals relating to fisheries observers on the agenda of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries...
10th December
With eye on China’s maritime advances in Pacific, Japan to promote strategic ASDF visits
TOKYO,10 DECEMBER 2018 (YOMIURI SHIMBUN) – To counter China’s growing maritime advances in the Pacific, the government intends to actively dispatch Air Self-Defense Force planes to Pacific island nations to promote exchanges with locals in those countries, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. The latest move is in line with the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”...
USP Vice Chancellor denies high staff turnover
APIA, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (SAMOA OBSERVER) – The outgoing Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP), Professor Rajesh Chandra, has downplayed claims about the high turnover of lecturers at the university. Prof. Chandra was responding to a question on whether the university was losing some of its quality lecturers, who contribute to...
Tonga’s tuna issues a priority at this year’s Tuna Commission
HONOLULU, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (TBC) – Albacore tuna – the species most important tuna for Tonga will be at the top of the agenda for the annual Tuna Commission (WCPFC) meeting in Hawaii this week. Pacific countries involved in the albacore fishery want this year’s meeting of the Tuna Commission to live up to its...
Fisherman snares cocaine in Marshall Islands
MAJURO, 10 DECEMBER 2018 (RNZ PACIFIC) – A fisherman on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands got more than he bargained for when he pulled in his throw net last week. It contained 48kg of plastic bags containing what is believed to be cocaine. The haul of white powder was in professionally double-wrapped and taped...
